Orders
by EstelRaca
Summary: Decade. Set mid-episode 23, so SPOILERS for that arc. They took Natsumikan away and gave Yuusuke back, but the Yuusuke they returned isn't the same as the one they took.


**Disclaimer:** Kamen Rider belongs to people with much more time and money than me. I just play in their sandbox because it's wonderful fun.

**Author's Note:** This is set mid-episode 23, when Yuusuke is left with Kaitou and Tsukasa and Natsumi is hauled away, so obviously some spoilers for that arc. It's rather dark, but nothing too graphic. I just needed to fix the fact that they completely dropped the Yuusuke-ball in that arc. Inoue often has great ideas but the worst execution in the world (this opinion formed after seeing only his work on Hibiki, Kiva and this, so maybe doesn't hold true for his early stuff).

_Orders_

They took Natsumi.

While he was standing less than ten meters from her, they took Natsumikan away.

The anger is cold, hard, a strange and yet hauntingly familiar monster that seems to pulse in time with his heartbeat. They took what was his, and he will make them pay dearly for it.

"Yuusuke." He prods the other Rider in the ribs with his foot. "Come on. Get up."

Yuusuke doesn't move, doesn't so much as twitch, and with a grimace of distaste he pulls back his foot for a harder strike.

And catches sight of Kaitou, watching him, not bothering to hide the disgust on his face. Disappointment, too, though that _is_ hidden, is locked away and buried so deeply that even Daiki may not realize it's there.

Something twists inside his head, a dizzying, disorienting break in his thoughts. He felt it once before, the first time he met Kaitou, an empty reaching certainty, a shivering, lurking presence dancing maddeningly on the edge of his awareness.

His past, still frustratingly far away, but at least it has dulled the bitter edge of his anger enough for sense to creep back in.

Dropping to his knees, he reaches out to shake Yuusuke's shoulder. "Yuusuke. Come on. Natsumikan needs our help."

"You shouldn't shake people with unknown trauma, you know." Kaitou leans back against a tree, DiEnd Driver resting on his shoulder.

"He'll be fine." Ignoring the thief's mocking eyeroll, Tsukasa shakes Yuusuke's shoulder again. And if he's a bit gentler about it, that has nothing to do with Kaitou. "Besides, he either walks or we carry him. We can't exactly call emergency services."

"If you've got any intelligence left, you'll leave him here."

"No." He doesn't stop shaking Yuusuke's shoulder, patting his cheek, determined to coax the other Rider back to consciousness. A statement like Kaitou's doesn't really deserve a response, and deigning to look at him might give either the anger or the emptiness more of a hold on his mind than Tsukasa's willing to risk. "He'll be fine."

"He'll be their puppet. Empty and happy, doing whatever they tell him to do, and you know what they want. Me. Probably you now, especially if they interrogated him." Kneeling down on the other side of Yuusuke, still a safe distance away, Kaitou makes it impossible to ignore him. "Why take that kind of risk? Why not just leave him here? Leave them both."

"Because they're—" _Mine_ is the word that wants to come out, tries to roll off his tongue like he's said it a hundred times before, but it's not the right word.

He doesn't own Yuusuke or Natsumi. They're free to leave if they want, though he tries not to think about the possibility too much. The soul-searching needed to reconcile the part of him that's certain no one would ever want to leave him with the part that whispers it's too dangerous, he's too inhuman is… daunting.

Kaitou stares at him, a belligerent challenge in the set of his jaw, and Tsukasa knows he's missing something in this exchange. Something tied up in the emptiness that's his past, something that Kaitou knows and he doesn't.

He sighs. "Because he's Yuusuke, and no matter what happens, Yuusuke's always—"

He was going to say 'fine' again, or maybe 'all right' so he doesn't start sounding like a broken record, but Yuusuke's eyes open.

For a wary moment they simply stare at each other. Then Yuusuke smiles, and Tsukasa relaxes despite himself, gives one of his half-smiles back.

Yuusuke's still smiling when his fist connects with Tsukasa's jaw.

* * *

_Bring them. Bring them. Bring them._

It pounds in his mind, over and over, too fast to be in time with his pulse. It's hard to think around the command, a white-hot poker burning his thoughts every time he tries to determine what's going on, but he can put a few things together. Tsukasa is here, blood dripping from a split lip, confusion all too evident on his face, and he needs to protect Tsukasa.

Which means he needs to bring Tsukasa to them, so he'll be safe.

(_To the place of fire and chains and terror and—)_

_Bring them. Bring them._

He sways, blinks, disoriented. Too many images, too much thought, not good, just need to follow orders.

"Yuusuke. Snap out of it." There is anger in Tsukasa's voice, a strict command that he would normally listen to and at least consider, but there are louder, more important orders in his head now.

He doesn't think, doesn't look, just submerses himself in the Order as his body tries to get Tsukasa into a position where he can take him to safety.

That's probably why the other one manages to get behind him, sweep his legs out from under him, but it doesn't explain why Tsukasa helps him. Doesn't make any sense out of the fact that Tsukasa's twisting his arm behind his back, tight enough to hurt, almost tight enough to start tearing things, and there's suddenly a gun in his face.

"No!" It's Tsukasa's hand, reaching over him, that slaps the weapon away. "Don't you dare."

"Better than the alternative."

Kaitou Daiki, that's the other one's name, and he's also on the list of people they want. Kaitou. Tsukasa. Natsumi. Him.

_Bring them. Bring them._

He twists in Tsukasa's grip, jerks his shoulder out of alignment, can hear and feel things shredding as he gains his freedom, but that's all right. He'll heal because—

The pain is a tidal wave, starting at his stomach and sweeping up through his head. He'll heal because he is special, because he was chosen, because he's—

But he belongs to Fourteen now, and that is all that matters.

A steady drumbeat, even faster now, and maybe it is to the cadence of his heart.

_Bring them. Bring them._

They've both moved away from him, just a few cautious steps out of reach. It should still be possible to rush them, to grab one, at least, and bring them.

Maybe then the voices will quiet, just a little, and give him room to think around them.

The step he takes toward Tsukasa is shaky, his balance uncertain, but that's all right. All he has to do is follow instructions and Tsukasa will be—

(_Dead._)

_Bring them bring them_

It _hurts_, deep lancing agony, a cacophony that will split his head in two. He reaches for Tsukasa, for the relief he knows, somehow, Tsukasa can give, and realizes that Tsukasa is talking to him.

It's hard to hear him over the other two voices, but the look on Tsukasa's face makes it clear that whatever he's saying is important, so he focuses all of his attention on it.

"—it, Yuusuke. Fight it. You're Kuuga, damn it. You—"

Kuuga. The other thing inside him, the hot fire centered at his abdomen, spread through all his nerves, tongues of flame that make it hard to think and move.

_Bringthembringthembringthem_

There is something he can do, something he can become to make his given task easier.

"Hen…" His breathing is too fast, too shallow, and the agony at his center makes him want to double over. But he needs to do this. He needs to…

_Bring save bring _listen

(_Mine free invader mine_)

He straightens, eyes eventually tracking to Tsukasa. Protect. Tsukasa. Protect.

"Hensh—"

They crash together, the blaze in his brain, in his blood, the inferno in his stomach, trailing through all his nerves. There isn't any air in his lungs to scream with as he drowns.

Until, for one wonderful moment, everything is perfectly, beautifully silent.

He smiles at Tsukasa before he falls.

* * *

"Yuusuke!"

He knows Yuusuke isn't breathing. It had been painfully obvious the moment the man went from hyperventilating to nothing.

His heart isn't beating, either.

"No." He swipes at the blood trailing from Yuusuke's nose with his sleeve as he arranges the Rider's head, carefully situates him to open his airway. "You're not dying like this."

He knows CPR. For once he doesn't care where the knowledge comes from, what shrouded bits of his past it might point to. Yuusuke's dead, and he knows CPR, and that's the only thing with any importance right now.

Almost a minute passes before he realizes Kaitou's still standing there, DiEnd held in a white-knuckle grip. His eyes are focused on Yuusuke, his expression too complicated for Tsukasa to bother trying to read.

"Help me." Short sentences are all right in between breathing for Yuusuke.

"So we can kill him again? Sorry."

"He was fighting." Keep his blood circulating. Breathe for him. Don't think about the taste of blood on his lips. "Winning."

"You call _that_ winning?" The sneer in Kaitou's voice doesn't match the horror in his eyes. "Besides, you know what the chances of CPR actually working are?"

"Better than nothing." Yuusuke's body is still fever-warm beneath his hands. "He's Kuuga. Has a healing factor. Now _help me_."

"You haven't said the magic word."

Kaitou moves despite his words, and Tsukasa stands up, lets Kaitou take his place straddling Yuusuke while he kneels by Yuusuke's head. The thief's stronger than he looks, his technique textbook perfect.

They work silently. There's nothing left to say, and Tsukasa's too busy counting off the minutes as they roll by. How long was too long for a Rider? How good was Kuuga at healing?

He doesn't cheer when Yuusuke finally takes a breath on his own—a shallow one, more a gulping sob than a real breath, but infinitely better than the nothing that came before. Each successive breath is more normal, more natural, and there's finally a pulse in his neck even when Daiki isn't pounding on his chest.

"So you saved him. What are you going to _do_ with him?"

Shoving Kaitou off Yuusuke, he ignores the man's question.

"I'm not helping you next time." Petulance laces Kaitou's voice as he scrambles to his feet.

"_What_ is your problem?" Looking up at the thief, Tsukasa frowns.

There's pain etched into Kaitou's face, and not just because of his brother. Confusion, contradiction, an uncertainty that's masked as soon as Tsukasa sees it, replaced by haughty disdain.

They're alike, then. Kaitou doesn't know who he is or what he's doing, either.

"I'm going to save him and Natsumi. That's what I'm going to do." The cold, alien anger from before is gone, replaced by something hot and vibrant.

They took Natsumi. They're trying to take Yuusuke from him. He will not allow it.

"No one can fight the mind control." Kaitou's arms are crossed over his chest, a protective gesture. "Even with his healing, all he manages to do by fighting is kill himself."

"If you've got a better idea, please, enlighten me."

"Maybe…" Kaitou kneels back down, shakes Yuusuke's shoulder gently. "He can't fight it directly. But he may be able to... slip around it. Hard as it's going to be for you, I don't want you to say anything for a few minutes, all right? He fixated on you before, and I'd rather not set him off again."

"I've got no problem with you doing the work." Tsukasa slips his arms under Yuusuke's, drawing the other Rider into a sitting position against him, restraining him. "Go to it."

"Don't give me orders."

Kaitou's hands are gentle despite his scowl, rubbing Yuusuke's arms, massaging his hands, and Yuusuke stirs within minutes.

"Don't open your eyes." One of Kaitou's hands rises, shields Yuusuke's eyes. "Don't try to think. Just listen to me and answer my questions, all right?"

A few seconds pass before Yuusuke nods, tension leaving his body.

"All right. Now, you can hear a voice in your head, right? Telling you to do things."

"Yes." Yuusuke's voice is quiet, weak. "He wants me to bring them."

"Don't think about that. Try to listen for anything else that voice is saying. Underneath that order. Other commands. Can you do that?"

"I…" Tension appears in Yuusuke's muscles again, and Tsukasa tightens his hold. "I can't ignore it. I can't—"

"You're not. You're just going to listen to its other commands, all right? Can you hear them?"

Silence stretches, and Tsukasa grits his teeth to keep from saying anything.

"Maybe?" The uncertainty in Yuusuke's voice is wrong, too young, too weak, and Tsukasa catches himself trying to tighten his grip again. Yuusuke needs to be able to breathe. "I think… Be kind. Be docile. Be kind. Be docile."

"That's right. Focus on that. Listen just to that. Let it drown out the other command." Kaitou's holding Yuusuke's hand, loosely, frowning in determined concentration. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." It sounds almost like Yuusuke. Almost, but not quite.

"Good. Now, just keep focused on that. Listen to that command. And tell me…" Kaitou pulls back, rises onto the balls of his feet, ready for a swift retreat. "Can Kuuga live with this?"

A shudder runs the length of Yuusuke's body. Then his eyes open, and he smiles, and that too is almost but not quite Yuusuke. "Yes. I'm fine."

He's not fine. It's anything but fine, for them to do something like this to a Rider, to _Yuusuke_, but he's not dying, and that's at least a step in the right direction.

Kaitou's staring at him, and Tsukasa lets his arms fall away from Yuusuke, waiting long enough to make sure Yuusuke can sit up on his own before standing. Two steps put him in front of Yuusuke, and he offers his hand to help the other man to his feet.

For a long moment Yuusuke simply stares at his hand, a slight frown on his face. Then he smiles that too-empty smile and hauls himself to his feet. "Thank you, Tsukasa."

"No problem. Let's get you home." He takes Yuusuke's arm to guide him, looks to the side, and realizes the thief's not standing there anymore. "Kaitou. Where are you going?"

"Somewhere without brainwashed people. Somewhere that Fourteen doesn't know about and in all likelihood have staked out." Kaitou calls the answer over his shoulder as he walks away, hands in his pockets, looking as nonchalant as he possibly can. "Going home's a mistake."

Maybe. Though he's definitely been with Yuusuke and Natsumi too long, because it hadn't even occurred to him that home could be dangerous. "I'll come find you later. We've got work to do."

"I don't follow your orders, Tsukasa." The thief doesn't even turn around this time to reply. "I'll do what I want to in my own way."

"Tsukasa…" A light shiver runs through Yuusuke's body. "Isn't that… shouldn't we…"

"We should go home and you should help Eijirou-san make dinner, all right? Help Kivala with… something." Turning his back on Kaitou, he drags Yuusuke a few steps forward. "Right? Help people? Be kind?"

"Right." Yuusuke relaxes again, smiling, following him without another word.

_Be docile._

Yuusuke isn't docile. Yuusuke isn't this empty thing, trailing him blindly. They've taken his Yuusuke, buried him alive under commands that twist what he is, the kindness and the sacrifice that define him, into something horrifying.

And they're doing the same to Natsumikan.

"I'll save you, you know." He keeps his voice light, because he doesn't want to watch Yuusuke die again, caught between an irresistible force and an immoveable object. "I'll save you both."

Yuusuke just smiles at him. "I know, Tsukasa. I know."


End file.
